Summery: A stranger in Japan finds herself somehow falling for Sanosuke after they become rather...close. Aoshi steps in - purely as a friend, of course. Sure. Sano/OC for almost sure.
Warning: M for a reason. Strong violence later, strong sexuality, and references to both. May have some OOC.
Disclaimer: I do not own RK or any characters. I do own my characters and the plot, however.
This is actually based off a really bad RK fic I wrote a few years ago - a really bad MS. Thank goodness I never posted it! So this is a rewrite/new story off of it. This takes place a year after the show, so...I'll post ages at the bottom. They're not important yet- well, not really at all, but I like people to know what the hell I'm doing.
Please review if you read. Comments, ideas, suggestions, and helpful criticism welcome.
"Must you always pick a fight, Sano?" Kaoru demanded, more than a little annoyed. The twenty year-old merely laughed, and looked around. A girl of about their age caught his eye, with dark golden-brown hair and wide indigo eyes. Her skin was tanner than most Asians, and she was taller than most Asian women as well.
"Not again…" Yahiko groaned, as Sano grinned.
"Wait, Sanosuke," Kenshin held his arm momentarily. "Look at what she's wearing. She's obviously not from around here."
"Oh yeah…" Yahiko noticed, and Kaoru sniffed.
"It's hardly proper for a girl to be wearing clothes like that in public," she added, inspecting the girl. She wore a dark red skirt under a black sash, cut wide. A long matching jacket hung over a snug white, loose-sleeved shirt, revealing the girl's figure.
"She's still pretty," Sano protested, but Kenshin shook his head, partly in amazement.
"Don't you have eyes, Sano? She's wearing a reverse-blade sword," he pointed out, and Sano blinked.
"Huh."
"You two go home," Kenshin ordered, his eyes narrowing. "Something's going to happen."
"What? Kenshin, what's going on?" Kaoru demanded, but he barely glanced at her.
"I think we better go," Yahiko said, tugging her sleeve, for once being obedient. "Let's go, Kaoru!"
"All right," she nodded, reluctantly, and the two rushed back toward the dojo.
The girl brushed a strand of hair out of her face, which had fallen out of the bun she had it in at the nape of her neck.
"I wonder what she's up to," Sano murmured, and Kenshin merely shook his head.
"She's looking for someone, that she is," he replied. "But I don't know for whom. Have you seen her around the Akabeko before?"
"Never," Sano shook his head. "Or else I would've met her before this, you can be sure."
"Yes, I'm sure," Kenshin said dryly, and then suddenly began to walk forward. "She's moving."
The two men followed the young girl through the streets until she arrived in the slums. Looking around anxiously, she tapped her foot against the dirt and frowned. Her fingers strayed to her sword hilt, but she moved them back crossed under her breasts.
"You think she knows how to use that thing?" Sano wondered quietly. Kenshin examined the girl closely, and then nodded.
"Not a master, perhaps, but the way she carries herself – she is not unfamiliar with battle," he told his friend.
"I see you made it, Aiko," a tall man smirked, appearing out of one of the houses. The girl – Aiko, spun around to face the man with dark-green hair and eyes.
"Kayo," she muttered, almost like a curse. "You made your point. Give it back."
"I don't think I made myself clear," he said thoughtfully. If his looks were anything to go by, he wasn't even a few years older than Sanosuke. "There was one other condition, Aiko."
"I won't," she shook her head, and her hand now rested firmly on her sword, the hilt barely coming out of the sheath. "Give it back, Kayo, and I'll leave Japan."
"Not until you fill your end of the bargain," he smirked again, and grabbed her wrist. She wasn't a short woman, but he was able to lift her off her feet. "Let's go, wench, before you cause me even more trouble."
"Hey!" Sano, who had had enough of the man, stepped out of the shadows with a glare aimed at Kayo. "Let her go, bastard."
"You have nothing to do with this, whoever you are," Kayo retorted, and Aiko groaned. "I suggest you leave before anything unfortunate happens."
"You know, I really hate when men try to push women around," Sano continued, calmly cracking his knuckles. "Ever heard of Zanza?"
"So, you're him?" Kayo laughed dryly. "I heard you went soft after Makoto Shishio was killed and there was no one left for you to fight, Sagara."
"Wanna bet?" Sano braced himself with a grin. "Come on."
"Let's go, Aiko," Kayo began to drag her away, unheeding of Sano's challenge. "We have work to do."
"I said let her go!" Sano yelled, and took several steps forward.
"What stake do you have in this, Sagara?" Kayo asked curiously, turning around briefly. Aiko's eyes were full of anger – directed at both Kayo and Sanosuke, from what Kenshin could tell. "Has she slept with you and stole your money? It will teach you to be more careful of women in the future."
Aiko flushed crimson at this statement, but the anger in her eyes deepened to hatred, and she clenched her hilt even tighter, her knuckles turning white.
Sano seemed taken aback at this statement, and then smirked.
"So, she's your little wench-for-hire?" he asked, and this time she paled. "Let me guess – she tried to run away?"
"Don't make assumptions," Kayo warned him. "This woman rightfully owes me something, which I intend to collect as soon as you get lost."
"From what I can tell, she's not too eager to pay up," Sanosuke replied easily. "So why not let her work it off somewhere?"
"One more chance, Sagara – leave," the man said quietly, and Kenshin saw him release Aiko's wrist slightly.
"I'll take my chances, thanks."
"Aiko – you want to pay off your debt? Then kill this man," Kayo said, tossing her to the ground towards Sano.
"I owe you nothing," she hissed, picking herself up. "Give it back to me, Kayo – as I said before, I'll leave without further fuss once you do."
"Kill him, and you'll get it back," he said calmly, and she turned to Sano.
"Why should she have any scruples about killing him?" Kenshin realized, disturbed at how easily the young woman prepared herself to kill a stranger. "However…no one has the right to take the life of another."
"I apologize, but this is beyond my control," she said to Sano, drawing her blade. Sure enough, it was a reverse-blade, and Sano's eyes widened.
"Hey, hold on…" he protested, backing up as she advanced slowly towards him. "Fine, I'll leave." Sano was by no means a coward, but he hated fighting women – especially women armed with swords and prepared to use them.
"I must protest," Kenshin said, appearing next to his friend, sword drawn. Aiko blinked and hesitated.
"Are you Kenshin Himura?" Kayo asked sharply, and he nodded simply. "Aiko, kill them both and you'll not only get it back, I'll pay for your trip back home."
She glanced back at the young man in astonishment, and shook her head.
"I can't kill the Battousai!" she protested, "I'll be killed first!"
"Smart girl," Sano nodded in approval, and her gaze snapped back to him.
"You, however…" she began, her hand shaking slightly on her sword. Kenshin saw she was nervous in his presence, and he knew she realized he would protect Sanosuke. "You have no right to interfere in my business, Sanosuke Sagara. I apologize, but I'll have to kill you."
"You must go through me first," Kenshin said dangerously, and she once again paused. Kayo was backing up, in no mood to be caught in the middle of a swordfight. Aiko realized he was leaving, and spun around.
"Coward!" she shouted, and took off after him. Sano and Kenshin remained stunned for a moment, and then chased after the pair.
Aiko tackled the man not far from the slums, and straddled his back, shoving his face in the dirt.
"Where…is it?" she demanded. "Where?"
"In the…" he mumbled something, but she was apparently satisfied. Crawling off him, he glared as he picked himself up, and her sword leapt to his throat.
"If you ever come near me, or my family, ever again, I will kill you," she said quietly, the sword's point pricking a small hole in his throat. He nodded hastily, and ran off as soon as she lowered her weapon.
"I would like to know where you received that blade, Miss Aiko," Kenshin said, catching up to her as she began to walk back.
"That's none of your business," she said, and began to stride by them without looking. Sano grabbed her arm, and she glared at him as she yanked it away. "Leave me alone."
"You could at least say thank you," the former fighter-for-hire grumbled, and she looked at him sharply.
"For what?"
"For saving you."
Aiko burst out laughing, and the tall man blinked.
"What's so funny?" he demanded, and she shook her head.
"Saving me…" she trailed off, and sighed. "If I do, will you go away?"
"Maybe."
"Fine. Thank you. A pleasure meeting you, Battousai. My name is Aiko Sakajima," she nodded at Kenshin primly, and strode off as quickly as she could.
"What a piece of work," Sano muttered, as Kenshin looked slightly amused. "Now what?"
"She told us her name," Kenshin said. "She wants us to find her again – she deliberately told us her name."
"Big deal. I'm hungry – let's go get something to eat," Sano shrugged. Crossing his arms behind her head, he began to stride off, and Kenshin followed after a moment's pause. Aiko had disappeared into the shadows, apparently long gone.
"It's here," she sighed in relief, inside one of the slum houses. Kneeling in front of a small chest, she lifted out a smaller leather bag, and felt it gingerly. "And intact. Damn Kayo – I'll kill that bastard next time I see him. Brother or not, he'll pay for what he did to them."
Standing up, she looked around, and saw nothing else of value – at least, not to her. Yawning, Aiko sat down on the floor mat, and stretched out.
"It's deserted for the time being," she shrugged, and rolled onto her side. "I can stay here – at least tonight."
"So, what was with that girl?" Yahiko demanded, once Sano and Kenshin had stepped foot inside the dojo. Kaoru was behind him, her eyes full of questions. Kenshin and Sano related the story, and she frowned.
"Why on earth would she tell you her name, after all that?" she wondered, and Kenshin smiled thinly.
"I believe it's a European custom – she was European, after all," he added. "She may be part Japanese, but her dialect was rather refined for someone who would have grown up around here. Besides, Kayo mentioned something about paying her passage back home."
"Well, at least she's out of our hair," Sano agreed, and Kaoru glared at him.
"What do you mean, out of our hair?" she repeated. "You're the one that got yourself involved in this! Don't go including us in it!"
"Calm down, Kaoru," Kenshin said gently, placing a hand on his fiancé's arm. "Nothing happened, and she is not going to hunt us down."
"I guess you're right," she nodded reluctantly, and then glared again at Sano. "But next time you go after a pretty girl, I'm going to hit you over the head so hard you'll see stars!"
"Is this a bad time?" Misao asked, popping her head in.
"Weasel-girl!" Yahiko greeted her, and she made a face at him before looking back at the others.
"I was just wandering around, and I thought I'd drop by to see how you all were doing!"
"We're fine," Kenshin nodded. "How is Aoshi?"
"Same old Aoshi," she rolled her eyes and shrugged helplessly. "He sent me to pick up a package for him, but the person who was supposed to deliver it didn't show up. I figure I should get a morale-booster before breaking the news. Oh well, it'll come soon, I'm sure."
"We'll let you go then, Misao," Kaoru nodded. "But drop in sometime for a visit, all right?"
"Sure thing, Kaoru!" the leader of the Oniwaban group winked, and left as quickly as she had appeared.
"Oh, come on!" Misao moaned, "I've got to get that thing to Aoshi right away!"
"Nope, sorry," the man shook his head. "You don't know what it is, I can't hand it over. Orders, you understand."
"Um…is it papers?" she guessed, glancing at the slim package. He blinked, and then grinned.
"Close, missy."
"Let's see…" she pursed her lips in thought, and then grinned. "Tea bags from Europe?"
"Bingo," he nodded. "This stuff is expensive – I can't afford to go handing it to every person who claims to know the buyer."
"I understand. Thanks!" Misao nodded, and took off. After a few moments, she bumped into another young woman, and they both fell to the ground. "Oh, sorry!"
"No problem," the other woman shook her head. "I wasn't looking either."
"Is it okay?" Misao asked, picking up their packages.
"I believe so," she nodded, fingering her package gingerly. "Yes, it feels fine, thank you. I am Aiko Sakajima."
"Misao Makimachi," the raven-haired girl stuck her hand out, and Aiko shook it firmly.
"Nice meeting you, but I have to be on my way," she said with a smile, and began to move away.
"Good-bye," Misao nodded after her, and then rushed off. "At least I finally have Aoshi's package now," she sighed in relief, and didn't even glance back again.
"Misao, what is this?" Aoshi asked in confusion.
"What's what?" she blinked, popping her head in. "That's the tea you asked me to get – and thanks a lot for telling me what it was in the first place, by the way!"
"Misao, these aren't tea leaves," Aoshi told her calmly with a sigh. "It's a rice-paper portrait – of a very attractive woman, but it's not what I ordered."
"Oh no!" Misao gasped, seeing the package. "We must have gotten the wrong ones!"
"Who?"
"That girl – her picture is the same one!" Misao groaned. "It's so delicate, I just barely felt it and thought it was the tea! She must have done the same thing."
"Who, Misao?" Aoshi repeated, glancing back down at the portrait.
"Aiko Sakajima," Misao told him miserably. "I ran into her this afternoon, and we must have gotten our packages mixed up."
Aoshi sighed in annoyance, and then stood up.
"I'll take care of it. Never mind, Misao, it's not a disaster," he added suddenly, and she slumped dejectedly.
"Sorry, Aoshi," she apologized again, and disappeared.
"Sakajima…I wonder what he's doing here?" Aoshi muttered to himself, staring at the picture. "This must be his daughter…"
"There's no other way for me to earn money in this stupid place," Aiko said tiredly to herself, finding herself once again in a brothel. "I need to get home – at least I have what I came for," she added in satisfaction, fingering the package. Looking up, she sighed in relief when the customer passed over her.
Looking around, she spotted several young men together, and looked away again, not that eager to do business. Just because she was forced to work in a brothel didn't mean she was eager to start up business
"Hey, you there," Sano gestured toward her, and she looked up. With their faces hidden in the shadows cast by the candles, they were unable to recognize each other. "Come on."
"All right, sir," she murmured respectfully, hating herself with every step she took to follow the tall man down a hall. "He seems…I've never met him in my life. I'm imagining things now…wonderful…"
"For the whole night, sir?" an old woman asked greedily, and he inspected Aiko – her figure – closely.
"We'll see," he agreed, and handed over half the money required. "Next payment if it works out."
"Of course, sir!" the woman nodded, and glanced sharply at Aiko. "Behave yourself, girl. This one can be a bit stubborn," she added hastily to Sano, "But once you've settled her down, she's one of our best girls."
"I like 'em with fire," he nodded agreeably, and led Aiko into the room. The old woman, after glaring sharply at Aiko one last time, shut and locked the door securely – a means to ensure that their customers didn't sneak away without paying for their goods.
Aiko sighed. She had refused to accommodate a man the last time she had been forced to work at the brothel for hygienic reasons – he was filthy, and she wrinkled her nose in disgust at the memory – and had been beaten and thrown out on her ass without any money.
"I'm not that hideous," Sano commented good-naturedly, catching her face. She looked at him in surprise, and then shook her head.
"It wasn't you," she admitted, grinding her teeth. "At least he's not hideous, or old, or filthy," she thought, trying to comfort herself, but the disgust she felt for herself overwhelmed any other thoughts. "They'd die of shame if they knew."
"Wait a sec – you're that girl from earlier!" Sano realized in shock, as her face came into the light. Peering at him, she groaned in recognition.
Ah...well, there's a lemon in the next chapter. M for a reason...
Kenshin: 29; Aoshi: 27 (I didn't know he was younger than Kenshin!); Soujiro and Misao: 19; Kaoru; 18; Yahiko; 11; Aiko and Sano: 20; Sawagejo Chou (Broom-Head): 22 I'll make him, since no one knows his real age. If ya do, please tell me.